Israel Adesanya to defend UFC middleweight title against Marvin Vettori this summer; winner expected to face Robert Whittaker

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is set to defend his title against Marvin Vettori in a rematch. The promotion is aiming to book a rematch between Adesanya and Vettori, with the winner expected to face Robert Whittaker.

According to an initial report from Combate - later confirmed by Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA - Israel Adesanya will be returning to the Octagon for the UFC pay-per-view scheduled for June 12th.

Adesanya (@stylebender) vs. Vettori (@MarvinVettori) is a go for the 185 title in June. Dana White (@danawhite) also reiterated to me Robert Whittaker (@robwhittakermma) will face the winner. https://t.co/FPu0aV5oZA

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 24, 2021

Standing across Adesanya inside the cage will be a man whom he has beaten in the past, Marvin Vettori. The Italian Dream has been on a winning run in the UFC and his last loss in the promotion was against Adesanya a few years ago.

Following Vettori's recent wins over top contenders like Jack Hermansson and Kevin Holland, the Italian called for a rematch against Adesanya.

While it did seem initially that the UFC would grant Whittaker a shot ahead of Vettori, the promotion eventually decided to move forward with a rematch between Adesanya and Vettori.

Don’t get too worked up re: Whittaker: they went to him first, I’m told. But considering he just had a 5 rounder and now has to quarantine for two weeks back home, it wouldn’t make sense to fight 6/12. Izzy really wanted 6/12 against anyone. Whittaker likely gets winner in fall. https://t.co/YABk1Wg96v

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 24, 2021

At UFC Vegas 24, Robert Whittaker secured his third straight win inside the Octagon after dropping the UFC middleweight title to Adesanya in 2019.

Whittaker hasn't received a shot at reclaiming his title yet. But with three consecutive wins on his record, The Reaper will get his crack at gold when he faces the winner of Adesanya vs. Vettori II.

Marvin Vettori confident about ending Israel Adesanya's middleweight title reign

Israel Adesanya established his place as the king of the middleweight division when he beat Robert Whittaker to win the 185-lbs title at UFC 243. Before winning the belt from Whittaker, Izzy had secured a victory over Vettori via decision.

Ever since losing to Adesanya, Vettori has repeatedly claimed his fight against the reigning UFC middleweight champion was incredibly close. Vettori reckons he is more than capable of getting the job done in a rematch between against The Last Stylebender.